MicroRNA polymorphisms: the future of pharmacogenomics, molecular epidemiology and individualized medicine.

Referred to as the micromanagers of gene expression, microRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved small noncoding RNAs. Polymorphisms in the miRNA pathway (miR-polymorphisms) are emerging as powerful tools to study the biology of a disease and have the …

Mesenchymal stem cells: flip side of the coin.

Tumor-associated fibroblasts or carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) play an important role in the growth of epithelial solid tumors. Although the cell type of origin of CAFs has not been conclusively established, it has been shown that they may be bone …

The isolation of novel mesenchymal stromal cell chemotactic factors from the conditioned medium of tumor cells.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) localize to solid tumors. Defining the signaling mechanisms that regulate this process is important in understanding the role of MSCs in tumor growth. Using a combination of chromatography and electrospr…

Carcinoma-associated fibroblast-like differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) have recently been implicated in important aspects of epithelial solid tumor biology, such as neoplastic progression, tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. However, neither the source of CAFs nor the differences…

MiRSNPs or MiR-polymorphisms, new players in microRNA mediated regulation of the cell: Introducing microRNA pharmacogenomics.

MicroRNAs are evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs known to inhibit the translation of proteins by binding to the target transcript in the 3' untranslated region. Functional polymorphisms in 3' UTRs of several genes have been reported to be assoc…

Thorium-induced oxidative stress mediated toxicity in mice and its abrogation by diethylenetriamine pentaacetate.

PURPOSE: Thorium ((232)Th, IV) preferentially accumulates in the liver, femur and spleen, which necessitates evaluation of its toxic effect in these organs. The present study was aimed at evaluation of liver function, oxidative stress and histological alte…

Aplidin synergizes with cytosine arabinoside: functional relevance of mitochondria in Aplidin-induced cytotoxicity.

Aplidin (plitidepsin) is a novel marine-derived antitumor agent presently undergoing phase II clinical trials in hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Lack of bone marrow toxicity has encouraged further development of this drug for treatment of leuk…

A miR-24 microRNA binding-site polymorphism in dihydrofolate reductase gene leads to methotrexate resistance.

MicroRNAs are predicted to regulate approximately 30% of all human genes by targeting sequences in their 3' UTR. Polymorphisms in 3' UTR of several genes have been reported to affect gene expression, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we demo…

The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells. Cell- & tissue-based therapy.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with a number of potential therapeutic applications. At present, they are being used in a clinical trial for the treatment of myocardial infarction and are being studied as a therapy for other vascular di…